Fay Spain (1932-1983)

biography

B-movie bad girl Fay Spain was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on October 6, 1932 (some sources cite 1933 as her year of birth). Her childhood proved to be so tumultuous that she left home at the age of 15 and supported herself working odd jobs. Her acting career began in New York, where she did summer stock work. A few stage roles ensued, followed by some television work. While still a teenager, she married actor John Falvo. The short-lived union produced a son and quickly ended in divorce. With a son to support, Spain tried hard to build a modeling and acting career. Perhaps her earliest TV appearance was as a contestant on the TV game show You Bet Your Life hosted by Groucho Marx. By 1956, Spain was having success landing roles on several popular TV series of the day, including Lux Video Theatre and Cheyenne with Clint Walker. The beautiful Spain was also a popular pin-up of the day, often appearing in magazines of the era.

In 1957, Spain made her film bow in the juvenile-deliquent cult film Dragstrip Girl with John Ashley. Other films followed, including Teenage Doll (1957; with Ziva Rodann and Barboura Morris), God's Little Acre (1958; with Tina Louise), and The Beat Generation (1959; with Steve Cochran and Mamie Van Doren. While Spain's film career was rather short, she seemingly preferred taking roles on television, where her work was prolific in the 1960s and 1970s.

the films of fay spain

Teenage Doll (1957)

Spain gets tough in the Allied Artists teen crime drama Teenage Doll

The Abductors (1957)

Spain and Carl Thayer are menaced by former silent screen star Victor McLaglen in the 20th Century Fox noir release The Abductors

Hercules and the Captive Women (1961)

Spain as Queen Antinea uses her feminine wiles on Hercules (Reg Park) in the Woolner Brothers release Hercules and the Captive Women

Cain's Hundred (1961-1962 NBC TV Series)

With series star Peter Mark Richman in a 1962 episode of Cain's Hundred titled Murder by Proxy

Black Gold (1963)

From the Warner Bros. period adventure Black Gold. LEFT: With Claude Akins. RIGHT: With James Best

Thunder Island (1963)

With Brian Kelly in the second feature Thunder Island, released by 20th Century-Fox

The Greatest Show on Earth (1963-1964 ABC TV Series)

With Ricardo Montalban in a 1963 episode of The Greatest Show on Earth titled The Hanging Man

Death Valley Days (1952-1975 Syndicated TV Series)

As Calamity Jane in a 1966 episode of Death Valley Days titled A Calamity Called Jane

Welcome to Hard Times (1967)

From the MGM western Welcome to Hard Times. This film was originally shot for television in 1966 but was deemed too violent to air, so it was released to theaters

later years

After appearing in the sword and sandal epic Hercules and the Captive Women (1961; with Reg Park), Fay Spain's film appearances became sporadic. In 1962, she divorced her second husband, John Altoon, an artist. She remarried again in 1965 and was divorced the following year. In 1968, she married fourth husband Philip Westbrook. Spain continued to work in films and on television until the mid 1970s; her last film appearance was in The Godfather, Part II (1974; with Al Pacino). Afterward, she retired from acting to care for her husband, who was ill. Sadly, Fay Spain died of cancer on May 8, 1983, at the age of 50. She was survived by a son and her fourth husband.

TELEVISION GUEST APPEARANCESPolice Woman, episode The Hit, originally aired December 9, 1975Caribe, episode Assault on the Calavera, originally aired May 12, 1975Police Woman, episode Flowers of Evil, originally aired November 8, 1974Ironside, episode Class of '40, originally aired February 7, 1974Night Gallery, episode Rare Objects, originally aired October 22, 1972Mannix, episode Cry Silence, originally aired September 24, 1972Medical Center, episode The Nowhere Child, originally aired December 15, 1971The Man and the City, episode I Should Have Let Him Die, originally aired September 29, 1971Hogan's Heroes, episode At Last---Schultz Knows Something, originally aired December 26, 1969My Friend Tony, episode Kidnap, originally aired June 8, 1969Hogan's Heroes, episode How to Catch a Papa Bear, originally aired October 12, 1968Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., episode Gomer and the Queen of Burlesque, originally aired February 2, 1968Gunsmoke, episode Wonder, originally aired December 18, 1967Mannix, episode Catalogue of Sins, originally aired December 2, 1967Death Valley Days, episode A Calamity Called Jane, originally aired December 29, 1966Rat Patrol, episode The Gun Runner Raid, originally aired November 28, 1966I Spy, episode It's All Done With Mirrors, originally aired April 13, 1966A Man Called Shenandoah, episode The Accused, originally aired January 3, 1966The Fugitive, episode Three Cheers For Little Boy Blue, originally aired October 19, 1965Daniel Boone, episode The Sisters O'Hannrahan, originally aired December 3, 1964The Greatest Show on Earth, episode The Hanging Man, originally aired November 19, 1963Rawhide, episode Incident of the Lost Woman, originally aired November 2, 1962Cain's Hundred, episode Murder by Proxy, originally aired February 6, 1962Gunsmoke, episode A Man a Day, originally aired December 20, 1961Rawhide, episode Incident in the Middle of Nowhere, originally aired April 7, 1961The Untouchables, episode Testimony of Evil, originally aired March 30, 1961Gunslinger, episode The Border Incident, originally aired February 9, 1961Maverick, episode The Cactus Switch, originally aired January 15, 1961Laramie, episode No Second Chance, originally aired December 6, 1960The Deputy, episode Lady for a Hanging, originally aired December 3, 1960Maverick, episode Bolt from the Blue, originally aired November 27, 1960Naked City, episode A Succession of Heartbeats, originally aired October 26, 1960Alfred Hitchcock Presents, episode The Cuckoo Clock, originally aired April 17, 1960The Alaskans, episode The Bride Wore Black, originally aired April 10, 1960The Alaskans, episode Peril at Caribou Crossing, originally aired February 28, 1960Laramie, episode Duel at Alta Mesa, originally aired February 23, 1960Wanted: Dead or Alive, episode Angela, originally aired January 9, 1960Maverick, episode The Goose-Drowners originally aired December 13, 1959Bonanza, episode The Sisters, originally aired December 12, 1959Rawhide, episode Incident of the Valley in Shadow, originally aired November 20, 1959Adventures in Paradise, episode Paradise Lost, originally aired October 26, 1959Wanted: Dead or Alive, episode The Matchmaker, originally aired September 19, 1959Schlitz Playhouse, episode Ballad to Die For, originally aired July 31, 195977 Sunset Strip, episode Abra-Cadaver, originally aired April 17, 1959Bat Masterson, episode The Tumbleweed Wagon, originally aired March 25, 1959Alfred Hitchcock Presents, episode The Last Dark Step, originally aired February 8, 1959Playhouse 90, episode A Town Has Turned to Dust, originally aired June 19, 1958Tombstone Territory, episode Pick up the Gun, originally aired May 14, 1958Perry Mason, episode The Case of the Fiery Fingers, originally aired May 3, 1958The Restless Gun, episode Pressing Engagement, originally aired February 24, 1958The Whirlybirds, episode Blind Victory, originally aired 1957Maverick, episode Naked Gallows, originally aired December 15, 1957Have Gun Will Travel, episode High Wire, originally aired November 2, 1957Gunsmoke, episode Mavis McCloud, originally aired October 26, 1957Cheyenne, episode The Long Winter, originally aired September 25, 1956Lux Video Theatre, episode The Guilty, originally aired 1956